Pierce 20 Month Update

Pierce has really seemed to grow up over the past month. He has started to look less like a chubby cheeked, toothless baby and more like a toddler. He is quite friendly, but does a very good fake shy routine where he'll hide his face and then slowly glance forward with a big smile. It's very cute and keeps the ladies swooning. :) He also had a break from separation anxiety where would just walk into church or the Y without a look back. He's regressed a little in the past week, but he still calms right down within a couple of minutes. He's still fairly obsessed with putting his hand in my armpit as a comfort thing. I'm having to consciously take his hand out and hold my hand over my shirt so he can't get his hand in. I'm not sure when that will stop. He is quite attached to me these days, and while I'm flattered, it can be a little exhausting to be the only one he wants. I know I'll probably miss it, especially when he's a teenager. I try to take these things in stride for that reason.

He still loves all forms of transportation and his black IKEA train engine is still his favorite lovey. It still goes to bed with him and even joins him in baths. At least it's clean! He loves hot wheels cars and even started making a siren noise like Blaine, but in the back of his throat. He absolutely loves look and find books and asks "wassat?" to everything on the page. He can do it for an indefinite amount of time. His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the movie A Turtle's Tale. He can do the animal noises for a cat, sheep, cow, duck, and horse. We've found that Pierce often absorbs a lot more than what he might initially let on. We'll attempt to teach both of them something and then days later Pierce will say it. He keeps us surprised this way! He's always been on Pierce time. :) Lately he talks about Nana and Papa a lot and I realized recently that every time we get in the car he thinks we're going to Nana's and he'll start to fuss if I turn the "wrong" way. Smart kid! He still answers "yeah" to most questions you ask, but this month he always added an "uhhhh" in front of it. I love asking him questions just to hear him say it. "Uhhhh-yeah". We affectionately imitate him a lot.

He remains a picky eater and keeps me humble as a mom in this way. He's had some food regressions though which has made me grateful and appreciative of what he'd eat before. I try to keep it in a toddler-expectation perspective. After his stomach flu it took a little while for him to get back to normal eating. Thankfully he's back on eggs this week and enjoys milk again. I know he lost a couple of pounds while sick, but it's still my personal mission to fatten him back up. His favorites are still peanut butter sandwhiches, veggie sticks, chicken nuggets, and gagas. He's very good about eating fruits and still loves any form of bread.